Yaqub Talib, the brother of former All-Pro cornerback Aqib Talib, was sentenced to 37 years in prison for the murder of youth football coach Michael Hickmon. Yaqub agreed to plead guilty last month as part of a plea deal. He was indicted last September following the fatal shooting a month earlier.
Senseless Violence
Yaqub shot Hickmon multiple times after a disagreement between the opposing coaching staffs of two youth football teams over calls made by the officials during a game. The arguments led to a physical fight before Yaqub pulled out a gun.
Video of the incident showed Aqib and Yaqub both engaged in an argument and Aqib fleeing the scene with Yaqub following the shooting. Aqib was not charged with any crimes related to the incident.
Aqib was present in the courtroom on Monday for his brother’s sentencing.
At Monday’s sentencing Hickmon’s widow, Kenyetta, took the stand and addressed Yaqub.
“You killed innocence. You killed souls, hopes, dreams. Not just my kids. But all the 30, 40 other little kids that was there. Who does that? How did you think that was right?” she said Monday. “People asked are you healed? I’ll never be healed. I still ask myself every day: ‘Why?'”
The Hickmon family also have a pending lawsuit that names Big XII Sports League and Family Services and the Talib brothers as defendants. The suit was filed last December and the Hickmons are seeking damages in excess of $1 million.
Pending Wrongful Death Lawsuit
The pending lawsuit alleges Aqib played a major role in igniting the brawl that led to Yaqub’s shooting of Hickmon. The lawsuit also claimed Big XII Sports League and Family Services failed to vet coaches and provide a safe and secure environment for its participants.
The Talib brothers are known to be bullies and antagonists in that youth football league, and while the shooting of Hickmon is the only major incident, there has been a pattern of aggressive behavior on their part.
“If you’ve been around the youth football world you know the Talib guys don’t like to lose and they give everybody a hard time,” DEA president Courtney Jackson told the Dallas Morning News. “I would call it rambunctious and overly aggressive.
“In the youth football world if somebody is crying about a call you might say stop whining or quit crying. They don’t laugh those things off. It gets personal with them.”
By all accounts Hickmon was a respected member of the community who was invested in being a youth football coach and helping young athletes. That is a job that is time-consuming and pays nothing or very little. People who do it and take it seriously, care.
